Sarah Hausman

Dec. 14th, 2015

Kathryn Randazzo
To immunize your child or not, that is the question?
In this paper I will argue that American children should be immunized according to the
vaccination schedule provided by the Center for Disease Control. While some individuals
express concerns about the vaccination schedule for these reasons, that they are painful, the shots
are given all at once, which can make the child sick or feel uncomfortable, and that the shots
have been suggested to cause autism. My paper makes a case for the following; it protects the
child from illness and disease, also that you cant get into school without being immunized, that
the immunization doesnt cause autism. Although some argue weve survived without
immunizations, and that they cause Autism, I argue that the benefits outweigh the risks and that
children should be immunized to avoid major illness.
The first reason to have children vaccinated is to protect them from illness and diseases.
The physicians from the Center for Disease Control, American Academy of Pediatrics and the
American Academy of Family Physicians made the schedule. The schedule of immunizations
are as follows: at birth the child will get a Hepatitis B, this immunization protects the child from
liver disease and then again at 2 months and one at the ages between 6 months and 18 months.
The child will then get a DTaP, Hib, and Polio shot at 2 months, 4 months and 6 months. When
the child turns one year the child will get a Mumps, Measles, and Rubella shot and a Chicken
pox immunization. The immunizations that the child will get help strengthen your childs
immune system. By the time the child reaches the age of two the child will be protected against
14 diseases and illnesses. In an article by the Center for Disease Control, researchers claim that
vaccines reduce the risk of infection by working with the bodys natural defenses to help the

child safely develop immunity to diseases. (How Vaccines Prevent Diseases). The article also
states, that your babys immune system fights off millions of antigens. The antigens in
vaccines come from weakened or killed germs so they cannot cause serious illness, Vaccines
and your Childs Immune System. In our textbook, Human Biology, Pearson, it states that that
immunizations protect the child from bacterial diseases. I wouldnt want my child to get a virus
or a disease. Even though we have three layers of epidermis, our skin cant protect us from
illness and disease.
In the same article, Vaccines and your Childs Immune System, by the Center for Disease
Control, it states that the vaccines that the child receives only contain a tiny amount of the
antigen that the baby comes in contact with every day. At each doctors visit they get three to
four shots. Each immunization will protect them for a long time. Yes, the shot is painful but
only for a second. It is better than getting the chicken pox or the measles, or dying. In 1989-90
the United States had a measles outbreak and out of 55,000 cases we had 11,000 hospitalizations
and 123 deaths. The majority of these cases were unimmunized preschool children What
Parents Should Know About Mumps-Measles-Rubella Vaccine and Autism Vaccines and your
Childs Immune System.
The vaccines that your child gets help strengthen your childs immune system. The child
will be protected against 17 diseases and illnesses. For example, your child is protected from
liver disease. In an article by the Center for Disease Control, it states that vaccines reduce the
risk of infection by working with the bodys natural defenses to help the child safely develop
immunity to diseases. The article also states, that your babys immune system fights off
millions of antigens. The antigens in vaccines come from weakened or killed germs so they
cannot cause serious illness(Vaccines and your Childs Immune System).

In 1989-90 the United States had a measles outbreak and out of 55,000 cases we had 11,000
hospitalizations and 123 deaths. The majority of these cases were unimmunized preschool
children (What Parents Should Know About Mumps-Measles-Rubella Vaccine and Autism).
The second argument why you should have children immunized according to the schedule
from the Center for Disease Control is that the child will not be allowed into their school. Some
schools in some states wont enroll the child in the school unless the child is up to date on their
immunizations. For this reason it is best to have them and their future classmates protected.
The third argument why you have children immunized according to the schedule from the
Center for Disease Control is for other people. This reason is that American citizens have an
ethical obligation to protect people. For instance, what happened in Disneyland in January 2015
with the outbreak of measles? If the American citizens and children were immunized before
entering Disneyland then the situation could have been diminished, or less of a problem.
Americans also have an obligation to protecting their own families, their neighbors, and
community members against the spread of disease. The way to stop the spread of disease and
protecting all American children is by vaccinating children. Another way to protect from illness
is to wash your hands a lot.
The final argument with regard to immunizing children according to the schedule from the
Center for Disease Control is with the concern of autism. There have been studies to show that
immunizing children doesnt cause Autism. The main immunization that some people say
causes Autism is the MMR; which stands for Measles, Mumps, and Rubella. The study states,
That autism is a genetically based disorder and that it begins at birth. In this article it states that
there is no proven association the MMR vaccine and autism. The studies that doctors have found
that the people who have been diagnosed with autism have identified abnormalities in the brain

structures that developed few weeks after gestation (What Parents Should Know About MeaslesMumps-Rubella (MMR Vaccine and Autism).
In conclusion, immunizing children protects not only the child but it protects everyone else
that they will come in contact with in their lifetime. Studies have shown that immunizations
dont cause Autism, which I have outlined in my paper. Having children immunized helps the
childs immune system by the time they are two years old. The immunizations are one of many
things that you can do to help the child not get really sick and have a serious illness or disease.
With all that has been said, get children in your life immunized.

Works Cited
2015 Recommended immunization for Children from Birth through 6 Years Old.
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines. American Academy of Pediatrics. American Academy of
Family Physicians. 14, Apr. 2015

How Vaccines Prevent Diseases. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines-decision/prevent-disease.html

Center for Disease Control.N.p.n.d. 14, Apr. 2015
Human Biology. Pearson,
Vaccines and Your Childs Immune System. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines-decision/preventdisease.html. Center for Disease Control. N.p.n.d. 14, Apr 2015
What Parents Should Know About Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) Vaccine and Autism.
https://www2.aap.org/immunization/families/autismfacts.html. American Academy of
Pediatrics. N.p.n.d. 25, Apr 2015.